Italian Meat Arancini (Print Version)

Golden Sicilian arancini—stuffed with seasoned meat, sweet peas, and stretchy mozzarella. Each one is fried up crispy and delicious.

# Ingredients:

→ Risotto Base

01 - Freshly shredded Parmesan cheese, 50 g
02 - 2 big eggs
03 - Fine black pepper, as needed
04 - Pinch of salt, your call
05 - 400 g of Arborio or short Italian rice
06 - 45 g unsalted butter, split up
07 - 1 tiny onion, chopped up small
08 - Extra 120 ml chicken stock
09 - 1.25–1.5 litres chicken stock, nice and hot

→ Meat Filling

10 - Some black pepper, just a dash
11 - Salt, up to you
12 - One bay leaf
13 - 1 teaspoon dried oregano
14 - 60 ml beef stock
15 - 75 g peas, frozen then thawed
16 - 120 ml passata or tomato sauce
17 - 30 ml olive oil
18 - 2 garlic cloves, chopped fine
19 - 1 small onion, minced
20 - 225 g ground beef, ideally 80/20

→ Assembly

21 - Chopped fresh parsley, to sprinkle (optional)
22 - Vegetable oil, enough for deep frying
23 - 200 g of Italian-style breadcrumbs
24 - 3 large eggs, whisked
25 - 125 g regular flour
26 - 225 g mozzarella, cubed in 1.25 cm pieces

→ Serving

27 - More grated Parmesan for on top
28 - Torn fresh basil leaves (for garnish, totally optional)
29 - Hot marinara, for dunking

# Steps:

01 - Grab a heavy pot and pop in most of the butter over medium. Add your onion and let it get see-through. Now toss in the rice, give it a minute or two. Start pouring in the warm stock, bit by bit. Keep stirring and topping up until it gets super creamy but the rice still has a tiny bite.
02 - Take the pot off the heat. Stir in the last bit of butter and the Parmesan. Throw in salt and pepper if you want. Spread this out on a baking tray. Let it cool down in the fridge for a couple of hours til it’s firm.
03 - Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium. Sauté the onion and garlic so they smell awesome. Add your ground beef and break it up while it cooks. Once it's brown, pour in passata, peas, beef stock, oregano, and the bay leaf. Hit it with salt and pepper. Let that simmer until it thickens up. Let it cool and pull the bay leaf out.
04 - Beat your eggs into the cooled risotto. Dampen your hands so nothing sticks. Grab a scoop of rice, flatten it out, and make a little spot in the center. Spoon in some meat filling plus a mozzarella chunk. Close it all up with more rice and roll into a ball about 5 cm wide.
05 - Set your stuffed rice balls onto a tray. Pop them in the fridge for half an hour so they don’t fall apart.
06 - Get three shallow dishes: one for flour, one with whisked eggs, and the last for breadcrumbs. Roll each ball in flour first, then egg, then breadcrumbs for a good coating.
07 - Heat up your oil in a deep fryer or Dutch oven so it’s 175°C. Fry the balls a few at a time. Flip so all sides get crunchy and deep golden. Transfer to paper towels to drain extra oil.
08 - Pile them on a platter. Serve hot with marinara for dipping plus grated parmesan, fresh basil, and parsley if you feel like it.

# Notes:

01 - Make sure your risotto is super cold before you start forming balls. If your hands are damp, things don’t stick all over you.
02 - Using a food thermometer is the easiest way to keep frying oil at the right temp.

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